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Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame member Bob Harris and Gary Davenport have well over 40 years of experience as fantasy football analysts, with three Football Writer of the Year Awards between them. They know their stuff—or at least that's what they tell themselves.
Each week during the 2025 season, Harris and Davenport are going to come together here at Footballguys to answer five of that week's biggest fantasy questions.
We have already somehow made it to Week 12 of the 2025 fantasy football season. Whether fantasy managers are angling for a Round 1 postseason bye, fighting to make the playoffs at all or sobbing quietly while trying to figure out where things went wrong, there's no shortage of folks looking for guidance and advice as they set their fantasy lineups.
Harris is here to provide it.
Davenport will join him as soon as he stops sobbing.
Madness Under Center
Several quarterbacks laid an egg a week ago, including every-week starters like Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.
Which higher-end starter is most in danger of doing the same in Week 12? Which lower-end signal-caller is set to ride to the rescue this week?
Harris: Dak Prescott looked fantastic against the Raiders. He completed 25 of his 33 passes for 268 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions on the Monday Night Football stage in Vegas.
The Cowboys' signal caller finished the week as QB3 with 26.3 fantasy points.
Prescott has an array of fantastic weapons in CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Jake Ferguson. The Cowboys have a solid rushing attack with Javonte Williams to complement the passing attack and keep opposing pass rushers honest.
I don't know if that's going to be enough against an Eagles defense coming off a Week 11 win over the Lions that included holding Jared Goff to a career-low completion percentage, as their pass rush had him under duress all night.
Philadelphia hasn't allowed an opposing quarterback to log multiple passing touchdowns against them since Week 4. On the season, the Eagles have allowed the fewest passing touchdowns in the NFL. Over the last seven weeks, they've had more interceptions (three) than touchdowns allowed (two).
Carolina's Bryce Young isn't going to throw for 448 yards every week. He might never do it again. But he did it last week, delivering 29.8 fantasy points and a QB2 overall performance against the Falcons on Sunday.
Could he do it again this week?
According to Sports Illustrated, Young has averaged 26.6 fantasy points per game in the two games in which he's thrown at least 35 passes. The 49ers have also allowed 303.9 passing yards, 2.3 touchdowns, and 22.2 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks over their last seven outings.
Davenport: Tez Johnson may have thought the chants were for him, but the "MVP" cheers raining down earlier in the season were for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was fantasy football's third-ranked quarterback over the first six weeks of the season. However, since then, Mayfield's fantasy numbers have tailed off—his three worst fantasy outings of the season have all come since Week 7.
There are a number of reasons why Mayfield has stumbled, including multiple injuries to Tampa Bay's pass-catchers. Now the Buccaneers head west to face the Los Angeles Rams and a formidable young defense that has surrendered the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.
I'd give Harris flak for sneaking Young in here after he beat the drum for the Panthers quarterback so hard over the summer. But I was standing right next to Harris with a drum all my own, so we're both idiots. Me more so than him—he's occasionally right at least.
Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars is FBG's QB17 this week, so "lower-end" may be a relative concept. In fairness, the Arizona Cardinals also aren't a great fantasy matchup for quarterbacks. But there is some sneaky shootout potential in this game, and the Jaguars just dropped 35 points on the Chargers. Add in the potential return of Jags wideout Brian Thomas Jr., and these dice are worth rolling.
Backfield Bizarre-ness
Injuries. Timeshares. Flat-out being bad. The running back situation is an annually frustrating mess in fantasy, and after a relatively steady start, it's ramping up just as we hit the stretch run.
Which non-obvious running back has the best chance of going on a badly-needed three-week tear to close out the regular season? Who is the best backfield spot-start in Week 12?
Harris: I don't know when Bucky Irving is coming back from his foot and shoulder injuries. He worked on a limited basis last week. He's working on a limited basis this week. But Fox Sports reporter Greg Auman noted on Thursday that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard didn't sound like he was banking on a Week 12 return for his starting running back.
Meanwhile, Sean Tucker is on the rise.
We all noticed last week when he rushed for 106 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns in Buffalo. We were even more excited to see him finish with a third touchdown through the air as he racked up 34 receiving yards on two catches to finish the day as RB2 overall with 34 points.
Tucker's workload went from 9 percent in Week 7 to 41 percent in Week 8 to 65 percent in Buffalo. Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke notes that Tucker was the Buccaneers' primary running back in normal early-down situations in this one.
Without a good feel for when Irving will return -- but assuming Tucker will get more opportunities either way-- it's worth noting the Buccaneers have a top-five schedule for running backs during the fantasy playoffs, which prompted Jahnke to suggest "there is a small chance Tucker could be a league winner."
Assuming Jaguars rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten's ankle isn't an issue -- and early indications are it won't be-- he might be my guy. Tuten was on pace for a breakout Week 11 performance before going down with the ankle injury. He still managed 74 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts despite leaving in the second half.
The fact that Travis Etienne Jr. has a shoulder issue and was wearing a no-contact jersey in practice Thursday adds to the intrigue. If Etienne plays, will he be at full speed? And even if Etienne is at or close to full speed, Tuten is coming on, and he seems to have a nose for the end zone. I'm not suggesting we force him into lineups, but if Tuten is active against the Cardinals, he's more than a "what the heck flex".
Davenport: He won't be of much use to fantasy managers this week, but all the pundits who gushed over rookie RJ Harvey of the Denver Broncos have to be doing cartwheels right now. Pour one out for J.K. Dobbins—he's an immensely talented young back whose wheels just will not stay on the axles.
Harvey didn't light it up on the ground with Dobbins on the shelf a week ago, averaging less than three yards a carry. But his 14 touches were Harvey's second-most of the season, and the Broncos aren't about to stop running the ball. Add in Harvey's receiving chops and nose for the end zone (six total touchdowns), and you have a player who appears primed for a late surge.
There are several things we know about this week's meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans—or at least think we do. We know that the Titans are a terrible football team. We know that the 7-3 Seahawks have to be seething after dropping a close one last week against the Los Angeles Rams. And we know that the Titans have allowed the seventh-most PPR points per game to running backs this season.
This isn't a Ken Walker III or Zach Charbonnet week. It's an "and" one.